Fantaisies Piotr Anderszewski

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791): Fantasia in C Minor, K. 475:
• 1 Fantasia in C Minor, K. 475 13:18
• 2 I. Allegro 08:08
• 3 II. Adagio 08:44
• 4 III. Molto allegro 05:49
• Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856): Fantasie in C Major, Op. 17:
• 5 I. Durchaus phantastisch und leidenschaftlich vorzutragen 12:09
• 6 II. Mässig, durchaus energisch 08:18
• 7 III. Langsam getragen. Durchweg leise zu halten 11:30
• Theme and Variations in E-Flat Major, WoO 24, "Geistervariationen":
• 8 I. Thema - Leise, innig 02:02
• 9 II. Variation I 01:30
• 10 III. Variation II - Canonisch 01:39
• 11 IV. Variation III - Etwas belebter 01:39
• 12 V. Variation IV 02:06
• 13 VI. Variation V 02:13
• Total Runtime 01:19:05

Info for Fantaisies

The release of any recording by the pianist Piotr Anderszewski constitutes something of a special occasion. As the Scottish newspaper The Herald wrote: “In music as in life, Anderszewski is a man who takes his decision-making seriously. His recitals are intense and wonderful: he is a profound communicator, a meticulous craftsman, a deeply original interpreter. He infuses every gesture with tremendous care; no phrase is thrown away, no nuance without meaning. The process of putting together such acutely considered performances is painstaking and lengthy … which goes some way to explaining why his repertoire includes just a handful of core composers.”

Two of the composers closest to Anderszewski’s heart, Mozart and Schumann, are the focus of this recital, Fantaisies, recorded in Warsaw. “I can hear in the music of both composers a similarity in their processes of giving physical form to their inspirations,” he says. “The cruel resistance of the blank page feels, in both cases, inexistent, ignored. And therein lies an important, precious connection between Mozart and Schumann: an unobstructed directness to their music, in which the purity of intention remains intact … In the case of Mozart his inspiration, his knowledge of the instrument, his compositional technique, all seem to coexist in some perfect balance, and the achievement of that balance feels miraculously effortless. In the case of Schumann things are less even, less consistent; one feels a much more troubled soul behind his creations. But even in his more awkward pieces the sincerity of intention, the initial impulse is never compromised.”

The two Mozart pieces, the Fantasia in C minor K475 and the Piano Sonata No. 14 in C minor K457, date from 1784-85, a time when Mozart, nearing the age of 30, was enjoying great success in Vienna, but both are dark, intense works. The two Schumann pieces, the Fantasie in C major and the Theme and Variations in E flat known as the ‘Geistervariationen’ (Ghost Variations) were composed some 18 years apart. The former was written in 1836, and constitutes a passionate expression of both Schumann’s love for Clara Wieck and his anguish at being kept separated from her by her father. The latter dates from 1854 and was Schumann’s final composition, written two years after the suicide attempt that led to his confinement in an asylum. He believed that the work’s lyrical, deeply touching theme had been brought to him by an angel.

If Schumann is one of the composers who came to define the Romantic piano, Anderszewski (as he explained in an interview with Bavarian Radio) feels that in the music of Mozart, an exemplar of the Classical era, “there is nearly always a touch of the Romantic …” While Anderszewski does not feel that Mozart is a forward-looking composer like Beethoven, he still says that “I sometimes have the impression that the two centuries that followed Mozart are reflected in his works.”

Piotr Anderszewski, piano

Piotr Anderszewski
is regarded as one of the outstanding musicians of his generation. In recent seasons he has given recitals at London's Barbican Centre and Royal Festival Hall, the Wiener Konzerthaus, Carnegie Hall New York and the Mariinsky Concert Hall in St Petersburg. His collaborations with orchestra have included appearances with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Chicago and London Symphony orchestras, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Royal Concertgebouw. He has also given many performances directing from the keyboard, with orchestras such as the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia and Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen.

Piotr Anderszewski has been an exclusive artist with Warner Classics/Erato (previously Virgin Classics) since 2000. His first recording for the label was Beethoven's Diabelli Variations, which went on to receive a number of prizes including a Choc du Monde de la Musique and an ECHO Klassik award. He has also recorded a Grammy-nominated CD of Bach's Partitas 1, 3 and 6 and a critically-acclaimed disc of works by Chopin. His affinity with the music of his compatriot Szymanowski is captured in a highly-praised recording of the composer's solo piano works, which received the Classic FM Gramophone Award in 2006 for best instrumental disc. His most recent recording devoted to solo works by Robert Schumann received an ECHO Klassik award in 2011 and two BBC Music Magazine awards in 2012, including Recording of the Year.

Recognised for the intensity and originality of his interpretations, Piotr Anderszewski has been singled out for several high profile awards throughout his career, including the prestigious Gilmore award, given every four years to a pianist of exceptional talent.

He has also been the subject of two award-winning documentaries by the film maker Bruno Monsaingeon for ARTE. The first of these, Piotr Anderszewski plays the Diabelli Variations (2001) explores Anderszewski's particular relationship with Beethoven's opus 120, whilst the second, Piotr Anderszewski, Unquiet Traveller (2008) is an unusual artist portrait, capturing Anderszewski's reflections on music, performance and his Polish-Hungarian roots. A third film by Monsaingeon, Anderszewski Plays Schumann was made for Polish Television and first broadcast in 2010.

In the 2014-15 season Anderszewski can be heard in recital at the Wiener Konzerthaus, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and New York's Carnegie Hall. His orchestral engagements include appearances with the London Symphony Orchestra, the NHK Symphony Orchestra and the Wiener Symphoniker, as well as three appearances in Bamberg as part of a residency with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. Additional highlights include a series of recitals with the baritone Matthias Goerne in Vienna, Berlin and London.

Booklet for Fantaisies